Various novelty hats are available and have been used for the purpose of attracting attention or for promotional and marketing purposes in the fields of sports and social or political activities. One such novelty hat is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,903,626 issued May 18, 1999 to Ward Fleming, the inventor named in the present application. The hat described in said patent has a dome-shaped body, e.g., a cap, that fits over the head of the wearer, and a fan-like structure pivotally attached to at least three points, i.e., the front end, the rear end and the center of the dome-shaped body as shown therein in FIGS. 2 and 3. The fan-like structure itself is formed of a strip of fabric having an accordion folding. In its closed position, the accordion folding rests on the dome-shaped body and is attached to the surface of the dome-shaped body by various methods or means, such as by adhesive, sewing or stapling, taping, Velcro.RTM., and the like. The disclosure of said patent is fully incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention provides a novelty cap with a fan-like structure which varies in its construction from the novelty hat described in said patent, and which may also be used for the purpose of attracting attention, or for promotional and marketing purposes. The novelty hat of the present invention constitutes a variation from and/or improvement over the heretofore-used novelty hats, including the novelty hat described in the aforementioned patent.